E 
475 

H b 




•/^ 



• ^ 







Class 2rV 



Book. 



i 



*— 



2f 



A ^torg 



OP 



]f irks burg an& Jarksnn 

"Seat Wt $at$?t" 



DISPATCHES OF CHARLES A. DANA. 

GENERAL JOHN A. McCLERNAND, Commanding 13th Army 

Corps. 

GENERAL JACOB G. LAUMAN, Commanding 4th 
Division, 16th A. C. 

REPORT OF COLONEL ISAAC PUGH, 41st Illinois, Commanding First 

Brigade ; and 

REPORT OF COLONEL GEORGE E. BRYANT, 12th Wisconsin, 
Commanding 3rd Brigade, 4th Division, 16th Army Corps. 

REPORT OF CAPTAIN FREDERICK E. PRIME, 
Engineer Officer, Fourth Division, 16th Army Corps. 

"ALL ABOUT JACKSON," By SAMUEL M. HOWARD, Co. H, 28th 
Illinois, Gettysburg, South Dakota. 



(CotnpUrd frnm tlfp GDffirial KenirOB of tlj? Huunt anb Qlonfpowate Armies. 
Uar nf tl?e ffipurlUmt. 

$VJ E&tmtt '€. Ijobart (Co. I, 2Btlj 3IUtnnifl 

u 
2223 HSpDt 3 lot Aup.. flpmipr, (Colo. 



*Z7 



HhH 



PREFACE. 

I believe it was S. M. Howard, an old survivor of the 28th Regiment 
Illinois Veteran Volunteers, who has referred to Vicksburg as "The Gibraltar 
of America." 

Certainly there is no more important subject in connection with the 
history of the Civil War than Vicksburg, and no other important point about 
which so little has been written. 

General Hurlbut's Sixteenth Army Corps, as a corps, was not pres- 
ent at Vicksburg, but the "Fighting Fourth Division" of that corps was 
selected to follow up the corps of McClernand's (the Thirteenth), Sherman's 
(the Fifteenth), and McPherson's (the Seventeenth), all of which had em- 
barked down the river from Memphis in December, 1862, after what was 
known as "General Grant's Retrograde Movement," the forward movement 
beginning in November from the line of the M. & C. R. R., down the Mis- 
sissippi Central Railroad, intending to besiege and capture Vicksburg from 
the land side, but which failed through circumstances well known to history. 

I am not undertaking to write a history of the capture of Vicksburg, 
but what I shall embrace in the following pages of this pamphlet will give 
the reader a fair conception of how the capture was accomplished, to whom 
the credit is due, who, if any one, failed, and particularly to protect the good 
name of two generals whom I believe to have been unjustly assailed. 






e 7 



INTRODUCTION. 

The student of history, I am positive, has, in analyzing great cam- 
paigns, failed to appreciate two classes of staff officers, namely, the Engineer 
and the Quartermaster, and, while I have not taken into my account of 
Vicksburg the latter, I beg to be allowed to offer the report of Captain Henry 
C. Freeman, Acting Engineer officer, Fourth Division, 16th A. C, believing 
him to have been free from prejudice, standing wholly aloof from the jeal- 
ousies usually existing, and in an important position — thus making impartial 
history. 

As to Charles A. Dana, he seems to have been of a different mould 
and incapable of judging impartially, but, appearing to fall among a class, 
was wholly unjust in his dealings with the opposite class. 

I have only to call attention to General John A. Logan's book, pub- 
lished some years after the war, entitled "The Volunteer Soldiers of 
America," to make plain my reference to classes. 

I may be pardoned if I seem to devote some energy looking to the 
defense of two volunteer generals of the Civil War, without apparent interest 
other than in a general way seeking for fair play. 

Being a native of the great State of Illinois, proud of her standing 
in defense of the flag, I naturally repel that which may destroy the good 
name of one of my State's sons, especially when prominence is given his name 
in the Official Records of the Rebellion. I refer to Major General John A. 
McClernand. 

Again, having for many years after the war resided in the great State 
of Iowa, in the City of Burlington, the home of my old Commander, whose 
name is also assailed in the Official Records of the Rebellion, and by the 
accredited representative of the great War Secretary, and in the same per- 
nicious manner, it is a great recompense to be able, though imperfectly, to 
place within the pages of this pamphlet some evidence of the worth of my 
Iowa Volunteer General, Jacob G. Lauman. 

Both of these Generals had to their credit, at the time of the Vicks- 
burg campaign, two years of hard fighting, and in every position and condi- 
tion they had acquitted themselves with great honors. 

I now come to Charles A. Dana, and the reader will observe in what 
capacity he was serving ; that he was duly authorized to act for the Secretary 
of War, but if such reader can discover what his motive was in dealing with 
my Generals, aside from his apparent intent to do away with volunteer gen- 



4 Vicksburg and Jackson. 

erals and fight out the war with West Point men, I would be glad to receive 
their ideas on the subject. 

I do not wholly defend General McClernand or relieve him of the 
faults which caused General Grant to lose confidence in him during the 
earlier period of the war, nor do I believe he was blameless in his issuance 
of the offending order which caused his being finally relieved, but Charles A. 
Dana could not have been taking these things into account, because he had 
only just arrived in the army. 

General Lauman was also, and near the same time (it was in the Dana 
atmosphere), relieved, but what could Mr. Charles A. Dana have had against 
him at the time he was finding so much fault with him? At the same time, 
it is not improbable that the General's trouble was caused by this very baneful 
influence. We will see. 

If we have a case at law, it is our first aim to get it before an unbiased 
and an honorable judge, so that I turn to our Division Engineer, Captain 
Freeman, who was certainly in a position to discover faults in General Lau- 
man, if any existed, and still no breath of fault was ever breathed by him 
or by any other mortal, so far as was known to hfs soldiers, until C. A. Dana 
took up the cudgel against him. 



Following is the "report of Captain Henry C. Freeman, additional 
Aide-de-Camp, U. S. A., Acting Engineer Officer Fourth Division 16th Army 
Corps, in his report to Captain C. B. Comstock, Corps of Engineers : 

"Vicksburg:. Miss., July 6. 1863. 
"Captain: T have the honor to. report in relation to the siege of Vicks- 
burg, Miss, as follows: 

"By order of Captain Frederick R. Prime, dated May 2*5. T was to report 
in person to Brigadier General Lauman as early as convenient. T reported 
next morning;. * * * * 

"The division commanded by General Lauman then occupied the 
ground north of the Big- Bayou between Hall's Ferry road and the Vicksburg; 
and Warrenton road, but leaving; a gap uncovered between these and General 
Hovey's command. * * * * 

"By order from department headquarters, on May 30. the division 
moved to the other side of the Big Bayou, crossing the Hall's Ferry road and 
mostly on the east side. 

"June 4: At sundown an advance was made from the Hall's Ferry 
road, near the buildings to the left and rear of Battery No. 3. The enemy 
driven back and the crest of the ridge gained on the left at Hall's Ferry road. 
The entire enemy retired across the valley after a sharp skirmish in which 
some of our men were wounded. The advanced line was secured by intrench- 
ing in rifle pits during this and the following night. * * * * 

"June 20: At night laid out work for Battery No. 2 for two guns, and 
Pioneer command constructed it. When ready to commence this work, the 
enemy attacked our picket guard at the advance point on the Hall's Ferry 
road. Being in line of fire of musketry, work was suspended for two hours 
until the firing ceased, the men being obliged to lie down for safety. There 
was very lively artillery firing at the same time by the enemy along the 
whole line front of the division, to which our guns responded freely. The 
enemy seemed to fear attack. 

"June 21: * * * * At dusk the line iri front of Batteries Nos. 6 and 
7 was advanced, and took position for opening the third parallel to connect 
with Hall's Ferry road on the left of second parallel on the right. * * * * 
This line crossed the spur on which the enemy's nearest work was situated, 
at a distance of 85 yards from salient. At 11:30 P. M. enemy made a sortie 



'Lest We Forget." 



upon the party. Colonel Moore, commanding- working party and guards, very 
gallantly met the charge and drove them back, when the work was resumed 
after an interruption of two hours, and continued till daylight. This party, 
including the guard, numbered 170 men, two of the men being wounded. 

"June 22: One hundred and twenty-five men at work en trenches right 
and left of Batteries No. 9, and completed a zigzag sap. Lieutenant Colonel 
Cam of 14th Illinois, in command of guard and working party in third paral- 
lel, about 350 strong. He received instructions to move immediately at dusk 
to relieve men in the trenches and commence enlarging the work already 
opened, until further orders. 

"Went forward with Lieutenant Colonel Cam to show him where and 
how to extend the work and to dispose his force for enlarging that already 
opened. In five minutes from the time I came upon the ground, the enemy 
fired a volley and made a sortie, rushing down the ridge in the same place 
and manner as on the previous night. The troops did not hold the line, but re- 
tired hastily and in disorder. Lieutenant Colonel Cam and five m«n were cap- 
tured, one killed and several wounded. The enemy filled up all our work 
along the line. About half an hour after this sortie, they made another down 
the Hall's Perry road upon our advance guard, but were three ti^nes repulsed, 
when they retired inside their works. 

"June 24: * * * * 41st Illinois was moved up and encamped in 
valley in rear of Battery No. 9, and 76th Illinois encamped in the head of 
ravine on the right of Hall's Ferry road in rear of Battery No. 5. * * * * 

"Lieutenant Colonel Lovell of the 33rd Wisconsin Infantry was de- 
tailed as field officer of trenches, and took charge of the organization of men 
for recovering our position. The position was recovered by advancing with a 
bayonet charge and the enemy routed from his own trenches, in which was 
captured 12 muskets and some blankets. Several of our men were wounded." 



As this writer, in making up the matter for this pamphlet, expects to 
"pay the freight," he feels that he is not called upon to apologize for that 
which he places in it. 

I would be glad if I could reproduce the whole of Captain Freeman's 
report for the reasons already assigned. Additional to this, and considering 
that our famous division was without a Corps Commander present to speak 
for- us, and that General Lauman was soon* after deposed, it is necessary to 
use the reports of our staff. « 

It may be said that I am giving too much prominence to Charles A. 
Dana To this I would say he represented the Secretary of War, and there- 
fore his dispatches were official ; possibly, however, not final, and let us weigh 
them and each for himself determine whether irrevocable. 

General Lauman's Fourth Division was chosen to enter the Vicksburg 
campaign because it was a veteran division; because it was a tried and true 
division; because its commander had commanded in many trying situations. 
It was cliosen for the same reason, as we shall see in our dealings with Mr. 
Dana and General McClernand, that the Twenty-eighth Illinois was chosen 
(or recommended by General McClernand to be chosen) to the War Depart- 
ment as one of the best regiments in the Army of the Tennessee to accom- 
pany the expedition (and this recommendation was made some time before 
the division was selected to accompany the expedition), and it is so very 
very strange that it (the division .and its commander) should become the 
target of the accredited representative of the great War Secretary. 

But Mr. Dana had to do something to earn his money, for, up to this 
very moment, having only just joined the army, where he could "get the 



6 Vicksburg and Jackson. 

truth," he was being urged for something tangible; he had until now been 
stationed at Cairo, but asked to be allowed to join General Grant's headquar- 
ters, "where I can get the truth," he had said. 

"WAR DEPARTMENT, 

Washington, D. C, March 30, 1863. 
"C. A. Dana, Esq., 

"Memphis, Tenn., via Cairo: 
"Your telegrams have been received, and, although the information has 
been meager and unsatisfactory, I am conscious that arises from no fault of 
yours. You will proceed to General Grant's headquarters, or wherever you 
may be best able to accomplish the purposes designated by this department. 
You will consider your movements to be governed by your own discretion 
without any restriction. _ 

"EDWIN M. STANTON, 

"Secretary of War." 



Two divisions of Shiloh after the siege of Corinth, Sherman's and 
Hurlbut's, had been sent forward to repair the Memphis and Charleston 
Railroad, and, after zigzagging across West Tennessee, arrived July 21st, 
1862, in Memphis, about as ragged and forlorn a looking lot as could be 
imagined, and still with all the qualities necessary to fight the battles of their 
country, and, after being reclothed and replenished, settled down for a season 
of rest and recuperation. 

In September, we of Hurlbut's division retraced our steps and were 
in due time established at Bolivar, Tenn. From this point we radiated in 
numerous movements to the South, co-operating with Rosecrans in his move- 
ment toward Iuka, and finally in his second battle of Corinth, where this 
division defeated Price and Van Dorn's forces on the Hatchie, October 5, 
the day following Rosecrans' two day's battle of Corinth. 

In November, we joined General Grant's movement down the Mis- 
sissippi Central R. R. from the line of the Memphis and Charleston R. R. 
This movement was the first inception of the campaign against Vicksburg. 
Returning from this, in what has been known as Grant's Retrograde after 
the capture of Holly Springs, we, for a season, were disposed along the line 
of the Memphis and Charleston R. R., and were, according to Mr. Dana, 
selected to accompany the Vicksburg expedition. He says : 

"Memphis, Tenn., March 30, 1863. 
"Via Cairo, April 1st. 
"Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, Washington: 

"General Grant has sent all steamboats that can be had as if he in- 
tended to move the bulk of his army from its present position, and has or- 
dered J. G. Lauman's division here to be held for instant movement. • * » 

"C. A. DANA." 

This division embarked May 11th, bringing up the rear of Sherman's, 
McPherson's and McClernand's corps. These generals had gone down in 
December, attacked the outer works of Vicksburg at Chicasaw Bayou 
and failed, when Sherman, getting information of the rebel forces at 



"Lest We Forget." 7 

Arkansas City, fifty miles up the Arkansas River, proposed to General 
McClernand that they proceed there, which was done, and they suc- 
ceeded in capturing the works; but it was done without the knowledge 
or consent of General Grant, and, to the credit of General McClernand, it 
may be said that he was reluctant to make the move, but it had been suc- 
cessful and was much easier of explanation. 

General Grant says, page 440, First Volume of his memoirs : 

"Immediately after the reduction of Arkansas Post and capture of the 
garrison, McClernand returned with his entire force to Napoleon, at the mouth 
of the Arkansas River. From here I received messages from Sherman and 
Admiral Porter urging- me to come and take command in person, and express- 
ing their distrust of McClernand's ability and fitness for so important and 
intricate an expedition.' 

The strange part of it all is, that, after this, and with all that C A. 
Dana was saying, General Grant still kept General McClernand in command 
of the Thirteenth Corps, a corps that did some valient fighting under their 
general until June 18th, when he was relieved for an infraction of the Ar- 
ticles of War. 

There are two objects in reproducing C. A. Dana's dispatches : First, 
to show the animus against my two generals, and second, that he was really 
in a position and did give the movement of the troops, and this gives the 
best condensed history of the great campaign. This being so, I hope that I 
may be justified in giving them at some length. 

The two following communications, which refer to General McCler- 
nand. incidentally and otherwise, will also be to the point of my aim to give 
an idea as to the approach of General Grant's army on Vicksburg : 

"DISHROON'S PLANTATION. 
"April 29. 1863, 11:30 P. M.. Via Memphis, May 5. 9:30 P. M. 
"The gunboats and transports came safely through from Hard Times Land- 
ing, this evening. The batteries at Grand Gulf were nearlv as active as in 
the morning, and Admiral Porter thinks that in one of the lower batteries a 
large srun had been mounted during the afternoon. No harm was received in 
the passage either by the boats or men. General WcClernnnd's Corps are nil 
ready to embark, but it deems to me doubtful whether thev will set on board 
before daylight, though General Grant has given the most urgent orders. 
ihey will land above Rodney, just below the mouth of Bavou Pierre The 
casualties on the fleet today have been 22 killed and 55 wounded 
"Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War. 

"C. A. DANA." 

"DISHROON'S PLANTATION, 

April 30th (as above). 
"The divisions of Carr, Hovey, and Osterhaus were landed safelv with- 
out opposition at Bruinsburg, Miss., at the mouth of Bayou Pierre, at i 1 a. m 
today. The divisions of A. J. Smith and Logan are now embarking and will 
be landed before night. All seems to be going on well, though, had any 
other general than IHoCIernand held the advance, the landing would certainlv 
have been effected at daylight. 

n», „ "C. A. DANA." 

Tion. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War." 

(The black in these dispatches are mine. — E. L H.) 

"Grand Gulf, May 4, 1863, 11:30 A. M. 
«• * • . General Grant left here at 1 a. m. this morning. * * 
* ,, of Sherman's Corps, the three divisions of Steel, Tuttle and Blair, 
should begin to arrive here today, having moved from Young's Point on the 1st 



Vicksburg and Jackson. 



instant. The Sixth Missouri Cavalry, for some weeks employed on the Louis- 
iana side, disembarked here and at Bruinsburg this A. M.. and will reach the 
front bv tomorrow morning. The Colonel tells me that he has just come 
back from a raid down the river on that side to within 20 miles of Natchez; 
that he has taken 100 prisoners, mainly of Harrison's Cavalry, and brought 
back large numbers of mules and horses. General Grant proposes to lose 
no time in pushing his army forward toward the Big Black Bridge, threat- 
ening both and striking at either, as is most convenient. * * * * 
"Hon. B. M. Stanton, Secretary of War. 

"C. A. DANA." 

Referring to his complaints against General McClernand, Dana re- 
ceived the following : 

"WAR DEPARTMENT. 

"May 5. 1863. 
"C. A. Dana. Smith's Plantation, or General Grant's Headquarters, via Mem- 
phis: 
"General Grant has full power and absolute to remove any person who. 
through ignorance, inaction, or any cause, interferes with or delays his oper- 
ations. He has the full confidence of the Government, is expected to enforce 
his authority, and will be firmly and heartily supported; but he will be re- 
sponsible for any failure to exert his powers. You may communicate this to 
him. 

"EDWIN M. STANTON. 

'Secretary of War." 

"Rockv Springs. Miss.. Mav 8th, 1S83. 
"Via Memphis. May 14. 3:30 P. M. 
"General Grant advanced his headquarters about five miles to this place 
yesterday. * * * * General Sherman's forces have not yet come up. and 
the old division of Quinby, now under M. M. Crocker, remains to guard 
Hankinson's Ferry. As soon as it is relieved by Sherman's advance. Mc- 
pherson will move his Corps in the direction of Raymond. No doubt, this 
movement will commence today. The advance of Osterhaus is at Hall's 
Ferry, and he reports that the enemy have batteries posted on the other side 
of (he Big Black River. From the Sixth Missouri Cavalry (sent day before 
yesterday back <!o Port Gibson), we heard last night that the enemy were 
pressing them., etc. * * * * 

"Hon. E. M. Stanton. Secretary of War." 

"C. A. DANA." 

The following are simply extracts with dates showing arrivals of dif- 
ferent troops : 

"May 16: McPherson reached Rocky Springs yesterday with his cav- 
alry. He advanced five miles beyond Utica, meeting a reconnaisance of the 
enemy which retired. — McClernand moved on the main road to Edwards 
Station. Sherman reached this place with Tuttle's division, and Hankinson's 
Ferry with Steel's. Unless the enemy attacks, no battle will be fought for 
two or three days. Leaving, therefore, Blair's and McArthur's brigades to 
come up. General Grant moves his headquarters to Auburn. * * * * 
Grand Gulf is to be garrisoned by one brigade of McArthur's until Lauman 
arrives there, when one of the latter' s brigades will form a permanent gar- 
rison." 

BATTLE OF CHAMPION HILL. 

"May 16. — General Grant has won a great victory over the rebels at 
Baker's Creek [Champion Hill]. Pemberton had a formidable position on 
the crest of a wooded hill over which the road passes longitudinally. He had 
above 25.000 men. The battle began at 11 a. m.. and was concluded at 4 p. m. 
Its brunt was borne by Hovey's division of McClernand's Corps, and by Lo- 
gan's and Crocker's divisions of McPherson's Corps. Hovey attacked the hill 
and held a great part of it till 2 p. m.. when, having lost 1.600 men. he was 
succeeded by Boomer's and Holmes' brigades and Crocker's division, by which 
the conflict was ended in that part of the field. Boomer lost 5v)0 men. Logan 
operated on the right and cut off the enemy's direct retreat, so that he was 
compelled to escape by his right flank through the woods. Logan had 400 
killed and wounded. We took about 2,000 prisoners. On the 17th, we ad- 
vanced to the Big Black, fought Pemberton again at his bridge head, and 
captured 3.000 more prisoners. He fought in rifle pits, protected by a difficult 
bavou full of abatis. Lawler's brigade of McClernand's Corps charged the 
rifle pita magnificently and took more prisoners than their own numbers. 



"Lest We Forget:' 9 

Pemberton burned the bridge and returned to Vicksburg with only three 
canon out of the sixty that he had taken out.' 

'Building- four bridges over the Big Black, General Grant arrived 
before the town on the evening of the 18th, and now holds it closely in- 
vested. He had opened a line of supplies via Chicasaw Bayou, having cut the 
town off from Hayne's Bluff, which is abandoned by the enemy, and which 
General Grant will occupy. There was sharp fighting through the day yes- 
terday. Steel won, and holds the upper bluffs, and the enemy's upper water 
batteries get water from the Mississippi. Sherman's Corps yesterday lost 
500 killed and wounded. McPherson, who holds the center, lost little, as did 
McClernand, who holds the left." 

"The gunboats kept the enemy alert during the night, and probably the 
town will be carried today. There are from 15,000 to 20,000 men in it. Pem- 
berton fights with the greater obstinacy because his people believe he has 
sold thier cause. Joe Johnston went into the town, but we have not heard 
of him since." [Sic] 

"Behind Vicksburg, May 23. — The town was assaulted yesterday. The 
order required the columns to move by every road at 10 a. m., precisely, but 
they did not all get started at the same hour. The attempt failed, but with- 
out heavy loss. At 2 p. m. McClernand reported that he was in possession of 
two forts of the rebel line; was hard pressed, and in need of reinforce- 
ments. Not doubting that he had succeeded in taking and holding the works 
he pretended to hold, General Grant ordered J. G. Lauman's division [Sic] 
of McPherson's Corps, to his support, and at the same time McPherson and 
Sherman both made attacks. McClcrnand's report was false, as he held not 
a single fort, and the result was disastrous. Lauman's division was pushed 
by McClernand to the front and suffered heavily. Colonel G. B. Boomer, 
Twenty-sixth Missouri, among the killed." [Reference to Lauman's division 
here is entirely erroneous.] 

"Hanson's Brigade, on McPherson's right, lost 25 per cent, of its 
strength, including Colonel G. Nevins and Colonel T. W. Humphrey killed, 
and Stevenson's Brigade lost some 300, including Colonel J. J. Dollins, killed. 
Sherman told me he had lost about 500, including Major D. T. Kirby, Eighth 
Missouri, who led a forlorn hope of 150 men — none of whom came back. The 
loss of the day in killed and wounded will probably not fall short of 1,500 
through iMcClernand's mistake, which would otherwise have been inconsid- 
erable." 

"Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War." 

"C. A. DANA. 

Major Kirby's Eighth Missouri was another Thermopylae, but I 
must close Mr. C. A. Dana's reports or there will be none of us left to tell 
the story. Before I do this, however, I will insert one gem, and while it is 
not complimentary to my old Commander, yet it is the truth of history that 
I am aiming at, in a weak way, and I would do violence to my conscience 
if I omitted it, and, while I defend General Lauman against such an asper- 
sion, and point to Belmont, Shiloh, and especially to General Lauman's good 
work in extricating his soldiers from what seemed inevitable capture by Van 
Dorn, at the time of the battle of Iuka, in view of his defeat just 17 days 
after C. A. Dana wrote these words, I may be leading a forlorn hope. The 
extract follows : 

"Rear of Vicksburg, Miss., June 25. 
"Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War: 

<<•*»• N ex t to Hovey, is Lauman. who has repeatedly lost pick- 
ets, and night before last had a Lieutenant Colonel and nine men captured by 
the enemy. Lauman is a brave man, but an ox is just as fit to command 
as he. 

"C. A. DANA." 

I do not profess to know so much about McClernand as I do about 
General Lauman, but if he (Dana) is as erratic in regard to the former as to 
the latter, then we may safely impeach his testimony with regard to both. 

I have shown this capture of Colonel Cam of the 14th Illinois of our 
Second Brigade as reported by Captain Henry C. Freeman, our Engineer 



10 Vicksburg and Jackson. 

Officer, who does not in the whole course of his report reflect upon the man- 
agement of General Lauman, and it remained for Mr. C. A. Dana, up to 
this time, to find fault with him, so far as I have been able to discover in the 
Records of the Rebellion. On the other hand, he had been to this very hour 
a brave and efficient commander of, first, his regiment, the Seventh Iowa at 
Belmont ; then of Hurlbut's Third Brigade at Shiloh, and of Hurlbut's First 
Brigade from this time on till he succeeded Hurlbut in command of the 
division after the battle of Hatchie or Davis' Bridge, October 5, following 
the two day's battle at Corinth, October 3 and 4, 1862. 

Tf Mr. Dana is as far from just and right in General Lauman's case 
as I believe him to be, and as I am in a position to know him to be. it is pos- 
sible, and even probable, that he has been unjust and wrong towards General 
McClernand, and I will attempt to show something of General McClernand's 
side of the matter. 



We now come to another phase of General McClernand's trouble, and 
I will ask you to bear in mind that the fault found by Dana preceeding May 
22d. had not so far caused General Grant to act, and it is doubtful if any 
harm would have come to him if he had refrained from issuing an order 
which w ill be referred to in a moment, and after I have quoted from General 
Grant's "Memoirs" to show that, while not pleased himself with McCler- 
nand's conduct on the 22d, he presumably had no intention to relieve him. 
On page 531. Grant says: 

"The attack was ordered to commence on all parts of the line at 10 
o'clock a. m., on the 22d, with a furious cannonade from every battery in 
position. All corps commanders set their watches by mine, so that all might 
open the engagement at the same minute. The attack was gallant, and por- 
tions of each corps succeeding in getting up to the very parapets of the 
enemy and in planting their battle flags upon them; but at no place were 
we able to enter. General McClernand reported that he had gained the 
enemy's entrenchments at several points, and wanted re-inforcements. I 
occupied a position from which I believed I could see as well as he what took 
place in his front, and I did not see the success he reported. But his request 
fV>r re-inforcements being repeated, 1 could not ignore it. and sent him 
Quinbv's Division of the 17th Corps. Sherman and McPherson were both or- 
dered to renew their assaults as a diversion in favor of McClernand. The 
last atack only served to increase our casualties without giving any benefits 
whatever. As soon as it was dark our troops that had reached the enemy's 
lines and had been obliged to remain there for security all day. were with- 
drawn; and thus ended the last assault upon Vicksburg." 

The Official Records give but one dispatch from McClernand to 
Grant, as follows : 

"HEADQUARTERS THIRTEENTH ARMY CORPS, 

"In Battlefield near Vicksburg, Miss., May 22. 1S63. 
"Major-General Grant: 

"General — We are hotly engaged with the enemy. We have part pos- 
session of two forts, and the Stars and Stripes are waving over them. A 
vigorous push ought to be made all along the line. 

"John a. McClernand, 

"Major General Commanding." 



"Lest We Forget." 11 

From General Grant's "Memoirs," page 546, we get a clue to General 
McClernand's real trouble, and, as I have intimated, unless the letters re- 
ferred to as coming from Generals Sherman and McPherson were instigated 
by C. A. Dana, the latter s fault-finding had done him no harm : 

"On the 17th [of Junel I received a letter from General Sherman and 
one on the 18th from General McPherson. saying that their respective com- 
mands had complained to them of the fulsom congratulatory order published 
by General McClernand to the Thirteenth Corps, which did great injustice 
to the other troops engaged in the campaign. The order had been sent North 
and published, and now papers containing it had reached our camps. The 
order nad not been heard of by me, and certainly not by troops outside of 
General McClernand's command until brought in this way. I at once wrote 
to McClernand, directing him to send me a copy of this order. He did so, 
and I at once relieved him from the command of the Thirteenth Army Corps, 
and ordered him back to Springfield, 111. The publication of his order in the 
press was a violation of War Department's orders and also of mine." 



General McClernand from his home in Springfield, now got busy, not 
defending his right to issue the order for which he was relieved, but as if 
it was on account of the failure of the 22d, and it is to be presumed that he 
felt that he was being punished for the sins of others. He could not have 
known at that time, and doubtless never knew, of the faults complained of 
by C. A. Dana. Anyway, let us, for the sake of fair play, assume that the 
affair of the 22d did have something to do with the case, and see what kind 
of defense he makes, and if it will brighten the memory of the General in the 
heart of one friend, I am amply repaid for the showing : 

"Knoxville, Iowa, Sept. 8, 1863. 
"Major General McClernand, Springfield, 111.: 

"In reply to your interrigatories, presented by Mr. Jones, I state the 
following facts, which occurred under my observation, connected with the 
assault of the Thirteenth Army Corps upon the enemy's works at Vicksburg 
on May 22d last: 

"I was in command of the 22d Iowa, which regiment was in the Second 
Urigade, Fourteenth Division of said corps. On the evening of May 21st. I 
was served with a copy of the circular, or order, directing the assault to be 
made the next day at 10 a. m. * * • » 

"At a little before 10 o'clock, by my time, I received the order from 
General Lawler's assistant adjutant general to advance, and I did so Imme- 
diately, supported by the Twenty-first Iowa. I advanced as I Intended, 
directly against the fort, but passing over the crest of the hill, the enemy's 
fire was so terrific that the left wing of my regiment was driven into the 
hollow on the left of the fort, but the right wing advanced steadily toward 
the fort, and within ten minutes from the time we started, my men entered 
>t, and held It, to my knowledge, for over an hour. The fort was small, and 
the open space inside very limited, and but few men could find room in it. 
When the enemy were driven from the fort, they also retired from the rifle 
pits on the right (our right), between that and the railroad. The Eleventh 
Wisconsin had also advanced against the second fort, some three hundred 
y^rds from the first one, and I saw the enemy leave that one. They also 
retired from the pits between the two forts, and went down the hill into the 
ravine or hollow beyond toward the city, leaving only a few struggling 
sharpshooters behind. I stood with Lieutenant Colonel Dunlap, of the Twen- 
ty-first Iowa, on the crest, and most exposed point near the fort. We saw 
them leave and conversed about it. I sent word back to General Carr to 
send me a brigade and I would hold the works. I regarded the thing as 
easily done. I do not know that t'.ie word reached the General. I regarded 
the door of Vicksburg as opened, and so said to Colonel Dunlap. and we 
were congratulating ourselves upon our success, when I was shot in the arm 
by a sharpshooter from »iie woods beyond their rifle pits, and he was killed. 
I ordered the color-bearer of the Seventy-seventh Illinois to bring up his 
colors, as mine were down in the hollow on the left, and my own men planted 
them on top of the fort. Soon after this my own colors were brought up and 



12 Vicksburg and Jackson. 

placed beside them. They remained there, to my certain knowledge, till 6 
o'clock in the evening. 

"Had we been re-inforced at any time before 12 M., by fredh brigades. 
I have no doubt that the whole army could have gone into Vicksburg. 

» * * » 

"W. M. STONE. 
"Late Colonel Twenty-second Iowa." 

Further than this, I will say that there is plenty of evidence support- 
ing the foregoing from Colonel Stone, and by the following participants : 
Harvey Graham, Lt.-Col. 22d Iowa; J. B. Atherton, Major 22d Iowa; A. H. 
Rugg, Color Sergt. Co. A, 77th 111. ; H. C. Wentworth, Lt. Col. and Aide-de- 
Camp; F. H. Mason, Capt. and Aide-de-Camp ; A. A. Blount, Capt. 17th 
Ohio Art., etc. 

So, regardless of any favorable or unfavorable feelings that I may 
have expressed, readers of this pamphlet can take their choice, and, if ii 
springs a controversy, I promise to remain neutral, but would not shirk any 
responsibility, and will assist in bringing out any further evidence which 
might not be available to all of my comrades ; yet such is easily obtainable, 
and amounts to a court of inquiry, if diligently pursued. But, whether the 
shoe pinches C. A. Dana or General McClernand, there are truly two sides 
here shown, and as has recently been said by our President, in words which 
we may not quote literally, but which convey the meaning: "Any man who 
is good enough [to offer] to shed his blood for this government, is good 
enough to have a square deal. More than this, no man can expect; and less 
than this, no man should have." 

Whatever may be said of the failures, follies and fulsome orders of 
Major General John A. McClernand, it must be acknowledged that he knew 
a good thing when he saw it. Soon after the close of the Corinth cam- 
paign, and when all eyes were turned on Vicksburg, he conceived a won- 
derful plan to cull the Army of the Tennessee of its best regiments, to form 
an invincible army for the reduction of Vicksburg — presumably to be under 
the command of the invincible Major General John A. McClernand. Witness 
the following: 

Washington, D. C, Oct. 10th, 1862. 
"Hon. E. M. Stanton. Secretary of War: 

"Sir — As it is possible, perhaps probable, that debarkation of the Mis- 
sissippi expedition will be contested by the enemy, it is considered important 
that it should be formed in part of experienced troops. If the expedition 
should be limited at first to 20,000 men, one-half, or at least one-fourth of 
that number should be of such troops, and I think they might be taken from 
the Army of the Tennessee (with which I have been identified), without 
material detriment to the public service, particularly if their place should be 
filled by new troops, and since the late defeat and dispersion of the enemy in 
West Tennessee. 

'Taking a few regiments from that army, even if they were only 
skeleton ones, and incorporating them with the expedition, would be to im- 
part a martial spirit and tone which would be of great value to it; hence, I 
recommend that the Eighth, Eleventh, Fourteenth, Seventeenth, Eighteenth, 
Twentieth, Twenty-eighth and Thirtieth Illinois, and Seventy-eighth Ohio, 
be assigned to the expedition. Most, if not all, of these regiments; are sadly 
reduced, and probably would not average 400 effective men each, giving an 
aggregate of only 6.200 men." 



"Lest We Forget." 13 

After giving some additional reasons for this extraordinary sugges- 
tion of the Secretary of War — mainly that the regimental commanders would 
make good brigadiers — he continues : 

"The forces designed for the Mississippi expedition might be concen- 
trated either at Cairo or Memphis, there being comparatively little difference 
in their eligibility as places of rendezvous and depots of military supplies. 
"Your obedient servant, 

"JOHN A. McCLERNAND, Major General." 



1 have embodied this in my pamphlet because it is very complimen- 
tary to my old regiment, being, with the exception of the Fourteenth Illinois, 
the only regiment from the "Fighting Fourth Division" chosen. 

General McClernand possessed the confidence of the Honorable Sec- 
retary of War, and his suggestions in many respects were listened to, and 
even the President shared in this confidence, but as to the regiments which 
he suggested should form a nucleus to his expedition, such request was not 
granted, though I am unable to say how this was received by the Govern- 
ment, and, so far as the two preferred regiments from the Fourth Division 
were concerned, they remained in their old organizations, but General Mc- 
Clernand was sent to the states of Illinois. Indiana and Iowa, to organize 
troops for that expedition. Witness the following : 

"ORDERED: That Major General McClernand be, and he is, directed 
to proceed to the States of Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa, to organize the troops 
remaining in those States, and to be raised by volunteering or draft, and for- 
ward them with all dispatch to Memphis, Cairo, or s uch other points as 
may hereafter be designated by the General-in-Chief, to the end that when 
a sufficient force, not required by the operations of General Grant's com- 
mand shall be raised, an expedition may be organized under General Mc- 
Clernand's command against Vickstaurg, and to clear the Mississippi River 
and open navigation to New Orleans. 

"ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR." 

[Indorsed by the President:] 

"October 20th, 1862. 
"This order, though marked confidential, may be shown by General 
McClernand to governors, and even others, when, in his discretion, he believes 
so doing will be indispensible to the progress of the expedition. 

"1 add that 1 feel deep interest in the success of the expedition and 
desire it to be pushed forward with all possible dispatch consistent with the 
other parts of *he military service. 

"A. LINCOLN." 



SURRENDER Ob' VICKSBURG. 

Vicksburg surrendered on the ever-glorious Fourth day of July — on 
July 5th Hurlbut's division, now Brigadier General Jacob G. Lauman's, 
started into the city, only reaching the inside works just surrendered, when 
we were ordered to countermarch, and in the awful heat and dust of that 
sultry soul-depressing semi-tropical sun, with malarial fever burning my 



14 Vicksburg and Jackson. 

body, I heard the order; rumor said we were going after Joe Johnston. We 
now have orders to march on Jackson. Dust was sifting through the seams 
of my well-worn brogans and burning my feet; the situation and my condi- 
tion could not be worse. Reaching Black River and ascending the slope be- 
yond, I fell by the wayside; I laid there until finally realizing that if making 
no effort to save myself I would surely die. Half bewildered I returned to 
the old camp on the Hall's Ferry road, and joined the camp followers and 
other convalescents left behind. 

In just a week of this torture, we learned of the awful fate of the regi- 
ment with others at Jackson, we believed we would never again see our brave 
comrades. It was a dark period of my life, but the worst was to come. The 
decimated regiment did return, and with it my rescued Captain, sorely 
wounded, with but a few not sick or wounded, with none in worse 
condition than myself. Our brave First Lieutenant, John B. Pear- 
son, was in command of my company. How he had escaped I 
do not know, but he immediately ordered me to the regimental hos- 
pital, from which I was almost immediately transferred to the General Field 
Hospital No. 4, where I suffered the tortures only known to victims of that 
insidious southern fever. But of myself I had not intended to write; suffice 
to say it was many weeks, and not until I had reached Natchez, where the 
remnant of my regiment had settled for the while, and after another long 
siege again in regimental and Marine Hospitals there, that I resumed my 
duties. But the following communication between myself, the National Tri- 
bune, and S. M. Howard of Co. H, tells the story of Jackson. This was pub- 
lished in the National Tribune of February 1st, 1906: 

Editor National Tribune: 

You have had comparatively smooth sailing in your very useful and 
very interesting writings. This is so because there has been little to find 
fault with, and that little so overshadowed by the real worth of the articles 
that no reasonable comrade would be so small as to jump up and raise a fuss. 

But you have seen fit to print C. A. Dana's heretofore unpublished 
statements about so many worthy and meritorious officers that I ask you to 
publish this in defence of my long time commander. I am the especial cham- 
pion now of Brigadier General Jacob G. Lauman. No shadow had ever been cast 
upon the General before G A. Dana arrived at Vicksburg and fell under the 
influence of E. O. C. Ord, and was filled up with the deepest prejudice against 
that most worthy and gallant officer who had been in at the opening of the 
Mississippi at Belmont and all down the line at Belmont, at Donelson, at 
Shiloh, and in an expedition from Bolivar to attract the attention of the rebels 
while Bosecrans marched to the attack on Iuka, and here, if he were "no 
more fit to command than an ox," as Dana says in one letter you overlook, his 
brigade would have been captured; but as it was he by most excellent 
strategy extricated us from the rebel army under Van Dorn near La Grange. 

Coming now to the battle of Davis' Bridge, on the Hatchie, we find the 
animus of General Ord in this, that being drunk, and, like a martinet, he 
cursed a soldier of Lauman's Brigade, and was by this Union soldier wounded, 
and there and then decided to play even with General Lauman and his sol- 
diers, and biding his time, he waited until he got the ear of C. A. Dana, and 
what you have not published of the balance is shown in letter 1 have re- 
ceived from Comrade S. M. Howard, which I send you herewith. 

One other point, if you will bear with me, is that you do not give the 
28th Illinois enough credit in the affair at Jackson, and also you mention 
the 51st Illinois, which was not there, but instead it was the 53d Illinois, and 
as the error is repeated I call attention to it. 

Pardon me for speaking out in meeting in behalf of our old commander 
whom C. A. Dana, at the instance of General E. O. C. Ord, would rob of his 



"Lest We Forget." 



15 




GENERAL J. G. LAUMAN. 

laurels. Lauman's Division had only been in the investment line two or three 
days when these attacks began, and the pretext of it was ostensibly the 
capture of Lieutenant Colonal Cam and a few men of the 14th Illinois, in a 
sortie of the rebels on our rifle pits. These were placed in their position by 
the Engineer Officer, and General Lauman had nothing to do with their 
capture. — Ed L. Hobart, Co. D, 28th Illinois, Denver, Colo. 



Gettysburg, S. D., January 15, 1906. 
"ALL ABOUT JACKSON, JULY 12, 1863." 
"Ed L. Hobart, Denver, Colo.: 

"Dear Hobart — In reply to your inquiry about the charge at Jackson, 
July 12, 1863, I will state: During the siege of Vicksburg General Joseph E. 
Johnston, of the Confederate army, had taken possession of Jackson, the 
capital of Mississippi, and had fortified the city with a strong line of earth- 
works, extending from Pearl River on the southeast around the city to the 
river again on the northeast. 

"In the campaign against Jackson, which began on the next day after 
the surrender of Vicksburg, the Fourth Division was commanded by General 
Jacob Lauman. and belonged properly to the Sixteenth Corps, but unforunate- 
ly was attached to the Thirteenth Corps, commanded by General E. O. C. Ord, 
a Regular Army officer, of whom I shall have something to say later on. 

"In that campaign the Thirteenth Corps comprised 14,400 infantry, 440 
cavalry and 63 pieces of artillery. 

"The Ninth and Fifteenth Corps and one division of the Sixteentu Corps 
also took part in that campaign; but as I am dealing only with our Fourth 
Division I shall have little to say about the other divisions. 

"It is proper to recall the fact at the outset that General Stephen A. 
Hurlbut was the lirst commander of our division, and that it was he who led 
us on and on and on at Shiloh, when and where General Laumau commanded 
the Third Brigade; and that it was General Hurlbut who led us oui ot the 
chaos at the battle on the Hatchie, brought about by General Ord, and then 
and there turned tumult into glorious victory, when and where General Lau- 
man commanded the First Brigade amidst that cyclons of carnage and death. 

"The Fourth Division left the trenches before Vicksburg July 5, the 
very next day after the surrender of that Gibraltar of the Mississippi, and 
arrived in the immediate vicinity of the fortifications at Jackson on the 10th. 

"The division then consisted of three brigades, commanded respectively 
by Colonels Pugh, Hall and Bryant. The Second Brigade was not engaged 
in the charge, and may be omitted from further mention just now. 

"The First Brigade was composed of the 41st and 53d Hlinois, the 3d 
Iowa and the 33d Wisconsin. 

"The Third Brigade consisted of the 2Sth and 32d Illinois, the 53d In- 
diana and the 12th "Wisconsin. 

"On the night of the 11th most of the division was in camp on the west 
side of the railroad running south from Jackson, and distant about one mile 
from the fortifications, and about 9 o'clock on the morning of the 12th the 
First Brigade (with exception of the 33d Wisconsin and Including the 28th 



16 Vicksburg and Jackson. 



Illinois) was ordered over to the east side of the railroad, with our left con- 
necting with General Hovey's Division. 

"From this point Colonel Pugh advanced his skirmish line, which soon 
engaged the enemy. The 28th, 41st and 53d Illinois and the glorious 3d Iowa 
were then ordered to advance by Colonel Pugh. We moved through dense 
underbrush across a small creek, and thence onward until we came to a corn- 
held. Here we halted and dressed up the line, although undor sharp Are. 
Colonel Pugh says he did not like the looks of the situation here, and de- 
clined to proceed further without specific orders therefor. Hence he sent for 
General Lauman, the division commander, who thereupon came upon the 
ground in person and ordered Colonel Pugh to charge upon the main earth- 
works of the enemy, less than half a mile distant. 

"With a deep yell, learned at Shiloh, which still rings in my ears, these 
four veteran regiments started on the doubie-ciuick for the main earthworks 
of the enemy, for destruction and death; for we were charging into a terrible 
angle of the main works, completely enliladed from our right flank, and sup- 
ported by nobody. But on and on the boys went, while the rebel cannon and 
rifles belched forth shell, grape and canister by the million, until the advance 
arrived at the breastworKs, some even leaping into Vhe ditch. The color- 
bearer of the 28th Illinois fell, mortally wounded, our flag falling to the 
ground, which was then and there grabbed by Private Joiin Hollingsworth 
of Co. H, and by him borne aloft and carried forward clear over the breast- 
works, where he was surrounded, taken prisoner, and our flag lost. But it 
is glory enough for me to say that the flag of the 28th Illinois was carried 
clear over the earthworks in defiance of 25,000 men. But, unsupported, 
human flesh and blood, even though braced with the nerves of steel, could go 
no farther. The remnant of the assaulting column, powerless to accomplish 
more, withdrew from the awful fleld of carnage as best they could; but bear 
in mind forever that we left behind us upon that death-strewn Held of 
slaughter more than 57 per cent of all who entered the charge. 

"Search well the annals of war throughout all time, and few parallels 
of the horrors of this charge can be found. In tne percentage of loss the 
mighty charge of Pickett at Gettysburg was nowhere. 

"But why was Lauman unsupported? Why this fearful binder? These 
are the points which all survivors ol that fearful struggle wish to know 
all about. 

"in as brief a way as possible I will endeavor to tell you of the motive 
which brought about this great disaster. 

"Soon after that slaughter was over and the survivors had fallen back 
and reformed in perfect order, General Lauman was relieved from command 
of his division, with which he had served most gloriously even from Belmont 
to this very hour, and sent back to Vicksburg in disgrace by order of General 
L. O. C. Ord, then commanding the Thirteenth Corps, in his report to Gen- 
eral Sherman relative to this, General Ord says: 

" "General Lauman had received special instructions to take position 
with his division on the extreme right, with his line about 1,500 yards from 
the enemy's works, his skirmishers as near as they could get, and under 
cover, his supports to skirmish about 300 yards in the rear of them. * » * 
The next morning, without orders, and directly in violation of the instruc- 
tions as to the position he was to take, he advanced upon the enemy's works 
with Pugh's Brigade and one regiment, about 1,000 men in all, a battery 
and one regiment following. The point of attack was not selected by any 
reconnoissance or previous examination. * * * I knew nothing of this 
attack and disaster until it was reported to me about one hour afterward. 
Captain McCoy stated that General Lauman told him to say to General Ord 
I am cut all to pieces.' I visited his division immediately. He reported 
his total loss about 100. I found the men scattered, except that part which 
had not been with him, and when I called on General Lauman to take imme- 
diate steps to put the remnant of his command under temporary cover, to 
call the rolls and gather the stragglers, I found he did not know how to do 
it; and for fear that the enemy might follow up their advantage, and the 
right flank being too important to trust in such hands, I relieved him and 
placed his division under the command of Brigadier General A. P. Hovey." 

"As an absolute matter of fact, the above quoted report of General Ord 
is untrue in nearly every respect, and did the greatest injustice possible to 
General Lauman. Just what General Ord means by the pharase 'his (Lau- 
nian's) supports to skirmish about 300 yards in the rear of them,' is quit** 
beyond the comprehension of any sober man. 

"Then, General Ord says: 'The next morning, without orders, and di- 
rectly in violation of the instructions as to the position he was to take, he 
advanced upon the enemy's works, etc' Let us see about that for one mo- 
ment. At 1 p. m. of the previous day General Ord gave the following instruc- 
tion or order to General Lauman, to-wit: 

"'Headquarters Thirteenth Corps, July 11, 1863, 1:30 p. m. 
" 'General Lauman: 

" 'General — As the enemy may have some force on the railroad, should 
they show an infantry line in force (which is hardly probable), make a recon- 
naissance, and if it is necessary to form a line and attack to drive the force 
in front, do bo, so as to keep your connection with General Hovey, who is 



"Lest We Forget." 17 

the connection with the main corps,' etc. — (War Records, Series I, Vol. 24 
p. 503.) 

"Here is the positive, written order from Ord to Lauman to form a line 
and attack and drive the enemy from his front. And yet, notwithstanding: 
this, Ord reports to General Sherman, as above quoted, that General Lauman 
made the attack 'without orders, and directly in violation of instructions.' 
This shows conclusively that General Ord either did not know what he was 
reporting to General Sherman, or that he was willfully slandering a meri- 
torious officer in order to shield himself. 

"Nor is this all. There are several soldiers still living- who were 
present with General Lauman and who will testify under oath that when that 
order was first given General Lauman refused to make the charge; and that 
thereupon Ord told Lauman that, if he would not make the charge, he (Ord) 
would get someone else to do it; and that it was after this threat that General 
Lauman finally ordered the charge. I met a comrade at Denver who assured 
•ne he would make oath to the truth of this. 

"But there is one weighty reason for this slur thus cast upon General 
Lauman. which all the records of the War Department do not in any way 
disclose. At the bottom of all lies the deep-seated jealousy which then every- 
where prevailed between the Regular and Volunteer officers. This jealousy 
was almost constantly manifesting itself, and was not by any means confined 
to Generals Ord and Lauman. All old soldiers and all readers of history are 
aware that, upon the death of General McPherson, before Atlanta, General 
John A. Logan was clearly entitled to the command of the Army of the Ten- 
nessee. All know that Logan would have made a splendid commander for 
that army. All know he was competent and qualified for that command. Why 
did he not get it? Throughout all the annals of the war one reason only can 
be found: Logan was a Volunteer officer, and those having the naming of the 
commander of that army were West Pointers. And this tells it all. 

"General Ord was a graduate at West Point. General Lauman was a 
Volunteer officer who, on merit alone, had forged his way forward to the 
command c* a division. 

"The West Point officers had to be taken care of, whether they were 
good for anything or not. General Ord had been prowling around in the West 
for a long time without a command suitable to his dignity. General Grant had 
humiliated General Stephen A. Hurlbut, the original commander of the Fourth 
Division, by virtually temporarily relieving Hurlbut from command and 
assigning this same General Ord thereto at the time of the battle at Davis' 
Bridge on the Hatchie River. And after General Ord had succeeded in getting 
us all into that death-trap, it was Hurlbut, restored to command, who turned 
disaster into glorious victory. 

"On this occasion, just as soon as it was known by the boys in blue that 
General Ord had been sent to take command, and had assumed command, 
they resented this insult to their old commander in every way they could, 
and gave many groans whenever General Ord came near them. General 
Lauman was in command of one of the brigades at that time; and it is to 
be presumed that General Ord then and tnere made up his mind in firm 
resolve to hold Hurlbut and Lauman both responsible for such insult to his 
dignity. 

,T The result was that General Hurlbut was shelved by being assigned 
to command of the post at Memphis, thus getting him out of the way, and 
now General Lauman was shelved by being relieved of the command of his 
division and sent back to Vicksburg in disgrace, and all because of West 
Point influence and West Point dignity, and to tne great damage of highly 
meritorious volunteer of fleers." — S. M. Howard. 

The regiments suffering these losses, in reality the old First Brigade 
of Shiloh and Hatchie, and still the First Brigade with the exceptions of my 
old regiment which had been transferred to the Third Brigade, and which 
for this occasion (certainly proving that desperate work was expected of 
them), were again associated in this forlorn hope. 

Comrade S. D. Thompson, in his "Recollections with the Third Iowa," 
a book I have recently been allowed to read by Comrade L. D. Powers (who 
served in Co. I of the Third Iowa, and who participated in that ill-fated 
charge), says: 

"Thus it seems that fate had decreed that this gallant regiment (the 
Twenty-eighth Illinois), which suffered side by side with us in the disastrous 
bend of the Hatchie River, should, under the same commander* suffer such 
butchery now." [General Lauman is meant.] 



18 Vicksburg and Jackson. 

I will here with reference to Jackson and his fatal charge, quote from 
"Inside of Rebeldom." This by J. P. Cannon of the 27th Alabama, a regi- 
ment that occupied Fort Heima,n Ky., at the time of our approach in Feb- 
ruary, 1862, during the campaign against Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, 
as follows : 

"July 12. — We slept In the ditches last night. The shells passing over, 
did not disturb us, except occasionally when one burst too close. The enemy 
charged Stovall's Brigade and were handsomely repulsed, with the loss of 
three stands of colors, 250 prisoners, and GOO or S00 killed or wounded. The 
colors belonged to the Twenty-eighth, Forty-first and the Fifty-third Illinois, 
and are beautiful silk flags, two of them blue battle flags; the other the Stars 
and Stripes, besmeared with the blood of its late bearer." 

It may be interesting to know what orders General Lauman had from 
his superior officer that caused him to make this alleged fatal mistake. It 
follows : 

"HEADQUARTERS THIRTEENTH ARMY CORPS, 

Jackson, Miss., July 11, 1863, 1:30 P. M. 
"General Lauman. Commanding Division: 

'As the enemy may have some force on the railroad, should they show 
an infantry force (which is hardly probable), make a reconnaissance, and, if 
it is necessary to form a line and attack to drive the force in front, do so, so 
as to keep your connection with the main corps. 

"Have a small reserve and keep it to your right and rear, as the 
right is the exposed flank. Do not put your batteries beyond infantry sup- 
port, and report your progress from time to time to me. 

"As soon as you reach the railroad, send a strong party to the river to 
examine and report. Yours respectfully, 

"E. O. C. ORD. 

I have a letter from some comrade of the old regiment who was 
wounded in the charge, and which states that while lying in the hospital 
General Lauman came to the hospital protesting his innocence of any "blun- 
der." The letter states that he was crying and nearly heartbroken, and claim- 
ing that he was justified in leading the charge just as he led it, and at the 
time he led it. General Lauman lies buried in the cemetery at Burlington, 
Iowa, and I assisted in decorating his grave for the fourteen years of my resi- 
dence there after the war. At the encampment in Burlington, in 1889, I had 
the honor to start a movement looking to the care of General Lauman's grave. 
I felt then, as I have always felt, that General Lauman was the scapegoat of 
some higher in authority at Jackson, and although he was relieved of his com- 
mand, and the command merged with another division, and General Lauman 
was never heard of after, officially, it is my belief that he simply carried out 
his orders, verbal and otherwise, as he understood them. In the report of 
General Sherman to General Grant, it is hardly necessary to read between the 
lines to discover that there was something being covered up. The report 
follows : 

"HEADQUARTERS FIFTEENTH ARMY CORPS. 

"Camp Before Jacksorv July 12. 
"General Lauman, in taking position today, got his lines uncovered by 
skirmish line too colse to the enemy's lines and suffered considerably; loss 
not yet ascertained. * * * * The ground to the right is so wooded that 
General Ord has been unable to ascertain Lauman's loss. * * * * 

"W. T. SHERMAN, 
"Major General Commanding." 



"Lest We Forget." 19 

Here follows the very last reference that was ever made to the sub- 
ject, in the "Records of the Rebellion," or to General Lauman : 

"HEADQUARTERS THIRTEENTH ARMY CORPS. 

"Near Jackson, Miss., July 12. 1883. 
'SPECIAL ORDER NO. 19. 

I. Brigadier General J. G. Lauman is hereby relieved from command 
of the Fourth Division, 16th Army Corps (temporarily assigned to the Thir- 
teenth Army Corps). 

"II. He will turn over his command to Brigadier General A. P. Hovey, 
who will place it in position and ascertain its condition and casualties, and 
report to Headquarters Thirteenth A. C. 

"HI. Brigadier General Lauman, on being relieved from his com- 
mand, will proceed to Vicksburg, or to General Grant's headquarters and 
report. 

"By command of Major General E. O. C. Ord. 

"WALTER B. SCATES, 
"Lieutenant Col. and A. A. Gen'l, 13th Army Corps." 



"HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF TENNESSEE, 

"Vicksburg, Miss., Aug. 7th, 1863. 
"The Thirteenth Army Corps is ordered to Port Hudson. 
"V. The Fourth Division, late Brigadier General J. G. Lauman, now 
Brigadier General M. M. Crocker, commanding, is taken from the Thirteenth 
Army Corps and assigned to the Seventeenth Army Corps, and will report 
accordingly. 

"VIII. Major General McPherson, commanding Seventeenth Army Corps, 
will send the Fourth Division, Brigadier General M. M. Crocker commanding, 
to Natchez as fast as transportation can be provided. 
"By command of General Grant, 

JOHN A. RAWLINS. 
"Lieut. Colonel and Assistant Adjutant General." 



The following reports of officers will give a better understanding of 
the disastrous charge and make a fitting supplement to my meager account. 
They will also account for the presence of the Twenty-eighth Illinois, and 
clear up several points which have for all the years since been but a tradition: 

Report of Colonel Isaac C. Pugh, Forty-first Illinois Infantry, com- 
manding Third Brigade : 

"HEADQUARTERS THIRD BRIGADE, 12TH DIVISION, 

"Near Jackson, Miss., July 20, 1863. 

"Sir — In compliance with orders from General Hovey. I herewith send 
you a statement of the operations of the First Brigade, Fourth Division. 
16th Army Corps, since the 5th day of July, 1863: 

"I left Vicksburg on the morning of the 5th of July, 1863, and marched 
to Clear Creek, and encamped, from which place we marched the 7th to 
Bolton; Sth, marched about 3 miles, and encamped until the morning of the 
9th; on the 9th, we marched to the town of Clinton, and encamped until the 
morning of the 10th; on the 10th, we arrived in the vicinity of Jackson, and 
on the 11th we were ordered into line on General Hovey's right. 

"I camped on the night of the 11th on the west side of the railroad 
running south from Jackson, and on the morning of the 12th my brigade was 
ordered into line of battle on the east side of the railroad, my left resting on 
the road on General Hovey's right — my line of battle running obliquely south- 
east, or back from General Hovey's right. 

"About 10 o'clock. General Lauman came up and ordered my line changed 
so as to form a square or right angle line with General Hovey's right, which 
order I obeyed, and, after some artillery firing, was ordered forward by General 
Lauman. My line consisted of the following regiments, to-wit: The Twenty- 
eighth Regiment Illinois Volunteers (which had been ordered to report to me 
for duty), on the right, commanded by Major Rhodes; the Forty-first Illinois 
Infantry Volunteers on the right center, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel 



20 Vicksburg and Jackson. 

John JJ. Nale; the Third Iowa Infantry Volunteers on the left center, com- 
manded by Colonel Aaron Brown; the Fifty-third Illinois Infantry Volunteers 
on the left, resting on the railroad, commanded by Colonel S. C. Earl. 

"Colonel J. B. Moore, of the Thirty-third Wisconsin Infantry, was 
ordered to the right by General Lauman, to make a reconnoissance in the 
direction of Pearl River. 

"I was ordered by General Lauman to move my line forward cautiously, 
which order I obeyed. After passing a small creek, lined with timber and 
dense underbrush, my command arrived in the open field, when I halted 
and had my line dressed up. I did not like the looks of the ground. There 
was a cornfield in front, beyond which there was a skirt of timber, and 
beyond that the timber had been felled. The fence had been laid down, and 
the corn cut down, except a strip immediately in front of my line. I ordered 
one of my aides to request the presence of General Lauman on the ground, 
as I did not like the appearance of the field, and I did not intend to advance 
farther without orders. During the time General Lauman was coming up, 
my skirmishers on the right fell back, and when the General came up he 
ordered the skirmishers to be pushed forward to the distance of 300 or 
400 yards, and then gave the order to my brigade to 'forward.' which order 
was obeved. As soon as the line had crossed the field and had got fairly 
Into the timber, the enemy opened a murderous fire on my whole line, but 
the men and officers pressed forward until they got within 120 yards of 
the enemy's breastworks, when they took shelter behind fallen timber, but 
the fire wps so murderous that what officers and men were left, fell back. 
the firing lasting about an hour. 

"I should have stated that the Twenty-eighth Illinois Infantry belongs 
to the Third Brigade, Fourth Division, and I have not had any report from 
the commanding officer of that regiment. 

"ISAAC PUGH. 

"Col. Comdg." 

Following is a list of casualties in this affair: 

Captured or 
Regiment. Killed. Wounded. Missing. Aggregate 

41st Illinois 2 0. 25 M. 10 O. 125 M. 2 O. 38 M. 202 

53d Illinois 2 O. 15 M. 9 O. BOM. 5 O. 45 M. 126 

3d Iowa 1 O. 16 M. 6 O. 51 M. 2 O. 37 M. 113 

28th Illinois 3 O. 3 M. 2 O. 41 M. . . O. 19 M. 68 

Report of Colonel George E. Bryant, Twelfth Wisconsin Infantry, 
commanding' Fifth Brigade, Twelfth Division: 

"HEADQUARTERS FIFTH BRIGADE, TWELFTH DIVISION THIRTEENTH 

ARMY CORPS, 

Near Jackson, Miss., July 20. 1863. 
"Captain John E. Phillips. 

"Assistant Adjutant General: 

'"'Sir — I have the honor to submit the following report of the oper- 
ations of the command after leaving Vicksburg: 

"This command left Vicksburg as the Third Brigade, Fourth Division. 
Sixteenth A. C, attached to the 13th Army Corps, the Division being com- 
manded by Brigadier General J. G. Lauman, at 7 a. m.. July 5th, 1863. 

"The command of the Brigade was passed over to me on the morning 
of the march on account of sickness of Colonel Amory K. Johnson, 28th 
Illinois, former commander. 

"Lieutenant Thomas A. Ralston, acting assistant adjutant general, 
was taken sick at camp near Black River, and returned to Vicksburg, and I 
detailed Lieutenant James K. Proudfit, adjutant to the 12th Wisconsin In- 
fantry, in his place, who has acted in that capacity since. * * * * 

"In the morning of the 11th instant, the Fifty-third Indiana Infantry, 
Colonel W. Q. Gresham commanding, under orders from General Lauman, 
reconnoitered and opened a road from Clinton road to Raymond and Gallatin 
roads, and returned to the brigade near the Clinton road, about 10 a. m., 
having successfully carried out its instructions. Soon after (about 11 a. m.) 
the Twenty-eighth Illinois Infantry, Major Rhodes commanding, under orders 
from General Lauman. marched upon the road opened by Colonel Gresham's 
command, and took position on the left of the Southern Railroad, a short 
distance to the front and right of the junction of the Raymond and Gallatin 
roads. The balance of the brigade marched about 2 p. m. by order of General 
Lauman, upon the same route, the 12th Wisconsin Infantry, Captain Giles 
Stevens commanding, guarding division train. The brigade halted that 
night near the present division hospital. The train did not come up, and 
the 12th Wisconsin remained with it. The thirty-second Illinois Infantry, 
Colonel John Logan commanding, was placed upon picket, by order of General 
Lauman. from the Raymond to the Gallatin roads in rear of the position. 
The 53d India\a Infantry and Fifteenth Ohio Battery remained where the 
command halted. 

In the morning of the 12th instant, General Lauman, with the First 



''Lest We Forget." 21 



Brigade, made an advance upon the enemy's works, taking with him the 
Twenty-eighth Illinois Infantry, which was in position as indicated above. 
After the advance was commenced, an officer of General Lauman's staff sent 
forward the Fifty-third Indiana, Infantry and Fifteenth Ohio Battery, as I 
suppose, to support the movement, though I am informed that their only 
orders were to follow the First Brigade. 

"The troops advancing on the enemy's works on the right of the rail- 
road soon came under a terrible fire of shell, grape, canister, and musketry 
The advance was over nearly level ground, covered with logs, slashed brush, 
stumps, etc., and perfectly open to the enemy's fire for about 600 yards. 
Brave as men can be. the troops rushed on till some arrived within 75 yards 
of the rebel works, or less, but they were finally forced to relinquish the 
hopeless effort and slowlv fell back to a ridge on the right of the railroad 
nearly opposite the position occupied by the Twenty-eighth Illinois Infantry 
the night before. At this point, I brought up the 32d Illinois Infantry, having 
relieved it on picket by five companies of the 12th Wisconsin Infantry, and 
took command of the brigade, all of which was present, except the 12th 
Wisconsin Infantry. 

"During the day General Lauman, by order of Major General Ord. 
commanding the 13th Army Corps, turned over the command of the division 
to Brigadier General A. P. Hovev, who issued orders upon assuming com- 
mand, merging the division in the 12th Division of the 13th Army Corps and 
naming this command as the Fifth Brigade. 

"In the afternoon of the same day. the command took position, by order 
of General Hovev. in the forks of the Raymond and Gallatin roads, and, on 
the 16th, took position, by order of General Hovey, in the rear of the Fourth 
Brigade. 

"Since the affair of the 12th instant, a part of the command has been 
daily engaged in destroying railroad track south, and the remainder per- 
forming ordinarv duties of troops in camp. The command is in excellent con- 
dition, as brave and every way efficient as any troops in any army. 

"The Twenty-eight Illinois Infantry, under the gallant Major Hinman 
Rhodes true to its ancient record, behaved splendidly on the 12th instant, 
leaving' some of their dead almost in the rebel ditch. This praise applies 
to officers and men alike, without exception, as I believe. It lost 5 officers 
and 63 men out of less than 200 engaged. This bloody fact tells its own story 
of their conduct. 

"The Fifty-third Indiana Infantry gallantly drove off from the field 
and saved two guns of the Fifteenth Ohio Battery, whose men and horses 
were nearlv all disabled. Fortunately, the Fifty-third Indiana, though much 
exposed, lost no men. No other troops of the command have been under fire 
since leaving Vicksburg. 

The command consists of the Twelfth Wisconsin Infantry, Captain 
Giles Stevens commanding; Twenty-eighth Illinois Infantry, Major Hinman 
Rhodes commanding; Tliirtv-second Illinois Infantry, Colonel John Logan 
commanding; Fifty-third Indiana Infantry, Colonel Walter Q. Gresham com- 
manding, and the Fifteenth Ohio Battery, Captain Edward Spear, Jr., com- 
manding. 

"I am. captain, very truly your obedient servant, 

"GEORGE E. BRYANT, 
Colonel Twelfth Wisconsin Infantry, Commanding Brigade.' 




APPENDED 



SHILOH. 

I had only intended to include in my pamphlet the foregoing, and 
shall not to a great extent, and only for the fact that just as I am going to 
press with it, I have received a letter from one of my old regiment, the 28th 
Illinois, Captain Henry L. Hadsell, just returning from a trip to the battle- 
field of Shiloh where were gathered several hundred survivors of the Blue 
and the Gray who fraternized, and valiently fought over again those two ter- 
rible days of forty-five years ago. It is a sad thought; they were on the 
grounds made sacred by the blood of so many of their comrades who fell. I 
have also met on the street returning from the same excursion, S. H. South- 
ard, who fought in that battle with Company E, 78th O. V. I., and who is a 
prosperous citizen of Greeley, Colorado. Comrade Southard was enthusiastic 
about what he had witnessed. He had with him as souvenirs of the battlefield, 
violets from the grounds where he fought, a sassafras cane cut from the very 
spot where he slept and many other relics brought from the now U. S. Mili- 
tary Park at Pittsburg Landing, including an Enfield bayonet, which shows 
that on account of the isolated position where Grant's army was said to have 
been "hid away," these precious relics are still to be found. 

Comrade HadseH's letter follows : 

Barry, Illinois, April 12th, 1907. 
Ed L. Hobart, Denver, Colorado: 

Dear Ed — You don't know how disappointed I was when I received 
your letter before starting- to Pittsburg- Landing, saying you would not be 
with us. The trip was a grand success from start to finish, and Captain 
Holman [W. T. Holman, 21st Mo., Rutledge. Mo.], deserves great credit for 
his services in making it what it was. Everybody was pleased and satisfied. 

We arrived on time Saturday morning, April 6th. 

My first move was to break for our old camp, which was no trouble to 
find, accompanied as I was by S. M. Howard, George Reece and Debold 
Furrer; these were all of the 28ui that were present. 

We found our lines all correct (except our camp, which they have on 
the right side of the road instead of the left; it is only a few rods different, 
however, so that I have no kick). 

The battle lines of every regiment are marked with cast iron tablets, 
with inscription of the regiment, etc.; we all decided they had done decidedly 
well; our own battle lines were correct to a dot. 

They have a nice stone tablet located on our first line Sunday morning, 
near the peach orchard, with a record of the regiment inscribed upon it. 
That, I was proud of! Oh, Ed, I thought of you when there reading the in- 
scription, knowing how you would appreciate it. There is also a tablet in 
front of the siege guns showing where the 2Sth stood in line of battle Sunday 
night, and also where we made the charge on Monday morning. I went 
down to the spring below our old camp, and also visited the Indian Mound 
where we laid our dead; all of these grounds looked natural except for the 
growth of young timber that has come up since, the old timber having been 
cut out. 

The old field between our camp and General Hurlbut's headquarters 
looks natural. Oil of the old fields on the battlefield are kept in grass, and 
th<* young timber has been kept trimmed up and the leaves burnt, so that it 
is truly a handsome park of 336 acres. 

The cemetery is located on top of the hill above the landing, just to the 
right of the road, and overlooks the Tennessee River; the yard of about 4 



"Lest We Forget." 25 



acres is inclosed -with. a fence and is laid off in blocks; each regiment has a 
marker. 

I visited our old camp twice, second time hired a carriage and took 
my wife and we drove all over the battlefield, and attended Shiloh Church. 
The old church burned down, but they have a new one on the foundation of 
the old. All of the old roads have been preserved by grading and graveling 
them; I was told by the superintendent that there are 25 miles of roads on 
the field, graded and graveled. 

Well, Ed. I could write a week about what I saw, but will close, having 
given you only the outline. Every state that had troops there have put up 
handsome monuments. Illinois' is nice, but Iowa beats them all, and now I 
will turn you over to S. M. French for further particulars and information. 

Hoping to hear from you soon, yours, etc., 

1 H. L. HADSELL,. 



The inscription referred to reads as follows 



"2Sth Illinois Infantry, Commanded by Colonel A. K. Johnson, Held This 
Line and One About 200 Yards South Against Heavy and Constant Eire From 
9:30 A. M. to 2:00 P. M., April 6, 1862, Then Retreated to the Woods on the 
North Side of This Feld. The Regiment Lost in This Battle 2 Officers and 27 
Men Killed; 8 Officers and 203 Men Wounded; 1 Officer and 4 Men Missing. 



Total, 245." 



"And there was tumult in the air, 

The fife's shrill note, the drum's loud beat. 
And. through the wide land, everywhere. 

The answering tread of hurrying feet." — Read. 



The very best account of the battle of Shiloh is contained in "Illinois 
at Shiloh," by Stanley Waterloo. In a book of 187 pages compiled by Major 
George Mason, Secretary Illinois Shiloh Battlefield Commission, which all 
survivors of Shiloh, especially those serving in Illinois organizations, should 
have, contains Stanley Waterloo's account together with fine half-tone cuts 
of monuments, etc., etc. 

I will here print the opening paragraph of this graphic account : 

"The battle of Shiloh, fought April 6 and 7, 1862. was one of the great 
battles of history, one the importance and quality of which will be more and 
more recognized as time passes. It was a battle in which were included half 
a dozen smaller battles. It was a battle where conditions were such that 
there was almost the closeness of conflicts in mediaeval times, and where 
regiments and brigades of raw recruits showed in desperate struggle with 
each^ other what American courage is. 

"It was a battle fought on a rough wooded plateau, down and up deep 
guMies and amid thick underbrush and heavy timber, where artillery duels 
were fought at simple musket range. It was a battle saved at the eleventh 
hour, and, finally, one so potent in its results that it may possibly have 
changed entirelv the issue of a mighty war. Such was the battle of Shiloh." 



Further, with reference to Comrade Hadsell's observations on the trip, 
in a postscript, he says : 

"I forgot to mention our old camp at Thiebes, Illinois. This is now a 
railroad town; a very fine bridge spans the river here, and Bird's Point, Mo., 
is all in the river. Fort Holt has grown up to willows and there was no 
signs of our cabins where we wintered ['61 — '62]; Cairo Point has extended 
some ways down the river and is covered with willows; cannot see Cairo 
until you get around on the Ohio River. Cairo has built up wonderfully 
along the Ohio River, and another fine bridge spans this river, and a town has 
grown up on the Kentucky side, opposite Cairo. 

At Fort Heiman and Fort Henry, there is nothing to indicate war. All 
grown up to willows; but Paducah is a fine city." 



26 Shiloh. 

The thought comes to one who saw these places in war-times — 
Thiebes without a railway on account of its southern borders, now a thriving 
town with a great railway crossing the Mississippi River and penetrating 
THE NEW SOUTH. 

Bird's Point, Missouri, while then an attempt had been made to im- 
prove it in the ordinary slow way, was, as we recollect, principally noted for 
its fine pawpas, full grown mosquitoes and its mud, now the bed of the Mis- 
sissippi River (a good riddance). 

Fort Holt, Kentucky, opposite Bird's Point, then a dense wilderness 
of wasting domain, now the center of the greatest Hardwood Market in the 
world, with its railways, crossing the Ohio River and another fine bridge, 
and where we used to gather pecans, we find a city lining the Ohio River 
banks opposite Cairo. 

The desolation of surging waters would have gone on just the same, 
war or no war, and such wanton waste would have held sway for all these 
years, but as a result of the war, what improvements we see ! And these things 
are worth all the war cost the South. For themselves, they wrought better 
than they knew ; they tore down the pedestal on which was enthroned an 
institution at once selfish, cruel, damnable! Allowing deserts and waste places 
to remain deserts, and, at the expense of their slave's sweat of the brow, 
devote themselves to pleasures and profligacy. It is said they are now patri- 
otic and industrious. We hope they are. If they are, what have they to 
thank? They wrought better than they knew. 

Admitting it all to be true, it does not bring back our Comrades who 
made these things possible by their sacrifices — by giving up their lives, and 
sleep in the beautiful Park we have described, and whom : 

The Bivouac of the Dead. 

The muffled drum's sad roll has beat, 

The .soldier's last tattoo ; 
No more on life's parade they'll meet, 

Or their brave deeds renew. 
On fame's eternal camping ground 

Their silent tents are spread, 
And Glory guards with solemn round 

The bivouac of the dead. 



HISTORY OF THE 13TH ILLINOIS. 

As bearing on Vicksburg and Jackson, and many matters I have men- 
tioned in the foregoing-, and in "A History of a Boy Veteran of the Twenty- 
eighth Illinois," Etc., I have determined to print herewith the history of a 
regiment in which served one of God's few faithful followers ; an exemplary 
man, a Christian then, faithful alike to his country as his God, and one whom 
I am pronnd to call brother. (His wife and my wife are sisters.) 

Arthur Patterson, now residing in San Francisco, California, since 
about 1890, was consequently there at the time of the great earthquake and 
fire one year ago. 

"The Thirteenth Regiment. Illinois Infantry, was one of the regiments 
organized under the Act known as the 'Ten Regiment Bill.' It was composed 
of companies as follows: 1 from Cook County; H from Kane County; K from 
Du Page County: E and F from De Kalb County; A and C from Lee County; 
B and G from Whiteside County, and D from Rock Island County. 

"John B. Wyman of Amboy was elected Colonel; B. F. Parks of Aurora 
Lieutenant Colonel, and A B. Georges of Dixon, Major. 

"The regiment was mustered into State service on the 21st day of 
April and into the United States service on the 24th day of May, 1861, for 
three years, or during- the war. by Captain John Pope, of the Regular Army, 
at Camp Dement. Dixon, Illinois. 

"Its Colonel, John B. Wyman. organized and commanded the 'Chicago 
Light Guards,' the first crack corps the Garden City ever had, and he soon 
brought the Thirteenth to a degree of proficiency in drill and soidierly de- 
portment that was never excelled by any regiment with which it afterwards 
associated. 

"The Thirteenth was the first regiment organized from the then Second 
Congressional District of the State, and was composed of as good citizens as 
Northern Illinois contained, many that enlisted as privates rising to field 
officers in later regiments. 

"On the 16th of June it was ordered to Caseyville, III., 10 miles east 
of St. Louis, and on the 5th day of July it passed through St. Louis to Rolla, 
Mo., where it remained until the spring of 1862. 

"While stationed at Rolla it was engaged in guarding supply trains to 
and fiom General Lyon's army, suppressing guerrilla bandits in that part of 
tl?e State, and was a part of General Fremont's force that went to Spring- 
field, Missouri, in the fall of 1861, after General Price, when the regiment 
was well and favorably known as 'Fremont Grey Hounds,' a name given to 
them by General Fremont himself, on the evening the regiment joined his 
army at Bolivar, a splendid regiment in splendid shape, after a day's march 
of forty-two miles. 

"In 1862 it joined General Curtis' army at Pea Ridge, 250 miles south- 
west of Rolla. and was with General Curtis in his memorable march from 
Pea Ridge to Helena, Arkansas, on the Mississippi River. 

"It was a part of General Sherman's army in his attack upon Chicasaw 
Bayou, and from that time on became a part of the noted Fifteenth Army 
Corps, commanded so long by General Sherman in person. In the first day's 
assault at Chicasaw Bayou, Colonel Wyman was killed. The following day, 
it was a part of General F. P. Blair's Brigade that distinguished itself by 
approaching nearer to the rebel works than any other command in that part 
of the field. The losses to the regiment on that day were 183 killed and 
wounded. It was present at the capture of Arkansas Post, after which it 
returned to Young's Point, opposite Vicksburg. While there, General Steel's 
Division, of which the Thirteenth was a part, made a successful raid to 
Greenville, Miss., and up Deer Creek, driving the rebels out of lhat region, 
and destroying an immense quantity of corn intended for the rebel garrison 
at Vicksburg. 

"It was part of General Grant's army that crossed the Mississippi at 
Grand Gulf below Vicksburg, and participated in a part of the battles in rear 



28 History of the 13th Illinois. 



of Vicksburg and in the capture of Jackson, and was with General Sherman's 
Corps on the right of the army during the siege of Vicksburg. 

"It was with General Steel's Division in the fruitless assault on the 
2d day of May [I think this should read the 22d day of May — E. L. H.]. where 
it suffered severely. Vicksburg surrendered on the 4th day of July. 1S63, and 
on the same night at 12 o'clock the regiment started with General Sherman 
after Joe Johnston. 

"It was present the second time at the capture of Jackson. Miss., and 
moved still further east to Brandon, where the pursuit of Joe Johnston ended, 
and with the remainder of the command returned to Black River and went 
into camp. 

"When General Sherman was ordered to join General Grant at Chat- 
tanooga with his corps, of which this regiment was still a part, it went from 
Vicksburg to Memphis by boat, and from there to Chattanooga was a con- 
tinuous Jig-lit, as the rebels tried every way in their power to prevent Sherman 
from joining Grant's army. 

"It wi.s with General Osterhaus' Division, temporarily attached to 
General Hooker's command, at the battle of Missionary Ridge, where the 
regiment captured 2,500 prisoners, and followed the retreating forces to 
RossviTle, where the enemy was overtaken and a severe skirmish ensued; 
from there the enemy was drivn to Ringgold Gap, where they massed their 
batteries to protect their retreat. 

"Osterhaus' Division formed in line of battle, the 13th being directly 
in front of the Gap and massed batteries. It being impossible to take the 
Gap by a charge, the Division was withdrawn and again advanced up the side 
of the mountain to the left of the Gap, where it encountered the forces of 
General Pat Clayborn, strongly entrenched at the top of the mountain. Here 
the Thirteenth Illinois and the Division held their grounds till their ammu- 
nition gave out, and they were Anally relieved at the third attempt by the 
14th Army Corps. They held this trying position for about two hours, the 
greater portion of the time being without ammunition, depending wholly for 
their safety upon 'fixed bayonets' and their determination never to retreat. 

"The losses in this battle were 67. Among the killed were Major 
Bushnell. Captain Blanehard, and Color Bearer Riley — this was a brave 
Irish-American of Downer's Grove — what more glorious record has any man 
than this: 'Color Sergeant, killed at Ringgold, November 27th, 1863.' He fell 
when shot through the breast in such a manner as to be rolled up in the 
flag, staining it with his heart's blood. For its conduct in the battle in and 
around Missionary Ridge, the regiment received the following complimentary 
notice in General Hooker's report. Vol. S, Page 215. Rebellion Records: 

" 'At the same time the enemy kept his artillery busily at work. Their 
skirmishers were driven in. and. as we learned the position of the bat- 
tery, the Thirteenth Illinois Regiment, from the right of Wood's line, was 
thrown forward to seize some houses from which their gunners could be 
picked off by our men. These were heroically taken and held by that brave 
regiment. Apprehensive that he might lose his artillery, the enemy advanced 
with superior force on our skirmishers, and they fell back behind Wood's 
line, when that excellent officer opened on the rebels and drove them into 
the gorge, they leaving, as they fled, their dead and wounded on the ground. 
Our skirmishers at once reoccupied their line, the Thirteenth Illinois all 
the time maintaining its position with resolution and obstinacy.' 
"The time of this regiment being so near out they were not taken on the 
march to the sea, but left to guard the communications in the rear. On the 
18th of June, 1864, the regiment was mustered out at Springfield, 111., having 
served three years and two months." 

AND ILLINOIS SAID, "WELL DONE, GOOD AND FAITHFUL SER- 
VANTS." 




A 



m&l 



M^i 



^Cj 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



I! mi iim hi 1111 in nun 
013 702 205 9 



r5 SS r : TbRrfi 



t'°!& ". . ai£e£ 




< aNS 



